The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship and the Research Chair in Electoral Studies at the Université de Montréal held a public forum on the Canadian electoral reform on October 20, 2016, at McGill University. The event was livestream by CPAC.

The debate pitted four electoral systems against one another: (1) first-past-the-post (FPTP); (2) alternative vote (AV); (3) mixed-member proportional (MMP); (4) small district open list proportional representation (SOP). Four political scientists each argued in favor of one system.

THE DEBATERS

Peter Loewen argued in favor of First-Past-the-Post (FPTP). Peter Loewen is the Director of the School of Public Policy and Governance and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. He works on questions of elite and citizen behaviour and the role of technology in improving governance and representation. He has published in leading journals of political science, economics, and general science.

Marc André Bodet argued in favor of the alternative vote (AV). Marc André Bodet is an assistant professor of political science at Université Laval where he specializes in Canadian and comparative politics, with a focus on electoral studies. He is also a member of the Chaire de recherche sur la démocratie et les institutions parlementaires.

Laura Stephenson argued in favor of small district open list proportional representation (SOP). Laura Stephenson is an associate professor of political science at the University of Western Ontario where she specializes in political behaviour, both Canadian and comparative. Her research focuses on understanding how institutions and context influence attitudes, electoral preferences and engagement with politics.

Sven-Oliver Proksch argued in favor of mixed member proportional (MMP). Sven-Oliver Proksch is an associate professor at the department of political science at McGill University. His research interests include political representation, democratic political institutions, party politics, parliamentary debates, political text analysis, and European politics.